Rebirth of Sinnoh: Volkner's Tale
by IanDonyer -ChrisAvrich
Summary: Young Volkner Sune is thrown into a foreign world at the blink of an eye; a world much different from his dreary home of Olivine City. Alongside Gardenia Florence and Willow Bryant, the young man is forced to find out just what happened, and why it has.
1. Chapter 1

**The Rebirth of Sinnoh**

**Volkner's Tale**

**Chapter 0: **_Prologue_

_Slowly, quietly, the raindrops echoed off the roof of the tiny shack, running down into the gutter and eventually returning to Earth. Earth was a place that the boy resented right now, as he sat up in his room, watching the rain from the dirty window._

Volkner Sune was fourteen years old. He stood at roughly five feet, probably a bit taller, but he wasn't sure by how much. Dirty blonde hair rested atop his head, keeping him the consistent target of teasing because of its resemblance of urine – at least the normally colored stuff. His torso was thin and bony, despite his rather heavy eating habits, which he was admittedly grateful for.

Today was a bad day for him. It was a bad day for the dreary Olivine City, it seemed, too: heavy rain, strikes of lightning and empty streets were all he saw throughout the day. Of course, this was the perfect environment for Volkner. He hated people. Dots of life bustling through the streets, going about their happy little lives... it sickened him. How could people be happy? How could people be happy when _he _couldn't be?

He sighed, sitting up from his laying position on his bed. His hands fished around in his pockets for the phone that rested in one of them – finally, his fingers gripped the cold surface of the tiny mechanical device, and he flipped it open, heading to his contacts list and pressing the "OK" button on a certain one. This was another thing Volkner hated. His economic status: his mother was poor. His father wasn't, but it wasn't like his father to support him anyway. So he was stuck with the most basic phone his mother could afford, a flip-phone with basic tools and calling functions. The damned thing didn't even have a camera.

"Hello?" a voice said on the other end. He could identify the timid tone immediately.

"It's a crappy day, Jasmine," he muttered.

"...I'm sorry to hear that."

Poor Jasmine Steele, he mused. Chose to make buddy-buddy with the wrong person. She was his ranting bag – nothing else, really. He supposed he would ask her about her day. Maybe someone else's problems would take his mind off of his own.

"Your own?" he asked.

"It's been alright. I got my first Pokemon today," she said.

"...Oh? What was it?"

"_She," _Jasmine started, "is a Onix."

"God damn!" Volkner whispered. "Don't you think that's a bit extreme? That thing could rip you in two."

Volkner heard a faint giggle, only further engaging his curiousity. "Rustina is my father's. He's domesticated just fine: a three year old could handle this gentle little giant..."

"...I'm jealous. I want something like that," Volkner admitted.

"Don't you have Chuseph-" Jasmine started.

"I don't care about Chuseph. He's weak. An Onix is strong," Volkner said, a bit too forcefully for his own liking: and from what he could tell, not too much to Jasmine's liking either, due to the thin gasp on the other end of the line.

"Volkner, that's-"

Once again, she got interrupted. "The truth."

"Volkner..."

Volkner angrily removed the phone from near his ear and let it slam shut, automatically ending the phone call. He fell back onto the pillow, taking in its soft comfort, and grunted. Stupid woman. How was it she got the good thing? Chuseph should have been hers, and this "Rustina" thing should have been his. After all, she liked cutsie things, didn't she? It made sense!

Spitefully, he buried the phone beneath the pillow, closed his eyes and let himself drift off into the much preferable world of a dreamless sleep.

Two days later, things really were not all that different. But today... today, Volkner had a reason to get out of bed, go to school and come home. Today would be the day he would get out of this mess.

So he did. He got out of bed and went off to school, coming home and staying up in his room for a little while to build up the courage. Finally, he left his room and headed downstairs, sitting down in the living room across from his mother, who was sitting back and watching some bullshit on their rickety old television.

"...Evenin', mom," Volkner said.

"'lo there, boy," Hannah Sune said absentmindedly.

"How are you?"

"Just fine," she said. "You need somethin'?"

"I wanted to ask a question.."

"Then ask it." She raised an eyebrow. "Ain't I taught ya that when something is on your mind, get it out?"

"...Right," Volkner said. "I don't think it's any secret that I don't like Olivine City."

"It's the best place ya got, kiddo," she responded.

"Not if I leave."

"A fourteen year old boy, leaving home? That's ridiculous, Volkner, and you know it."

"People do it younger," Volkner said.

"Pokemon Trainers?" A glint in his mother's eyes. He knew he had struck a nerve.

"I want to become one."

"No. You're staying here, like a normal kid."

Just then, Volkner was startled as the infamous tiny yellow mouse jumped onto his shoulder: Chuseph the Pichu, resting upon his shoulder, enjoying the comfortable fabric of his blue jacket. He added in his little part to the oncoming argument. "Chu!"

His mother continued. "Normal kids stay at home, grow old doing things like business and get married to a nice girl."

Volkner stood up. "But mom, I ain't a normal kid!"

Volkner wanted to leave Olivine more than anything in the world: and his conversation with Jasmine Steele had given him the idea on how to do it.

"Volkner, give me Chuseph. I'm-"

"Chuseph? Really, mom? Giving him such a _human _name... he's not human. Not even remotely close! They're so much less than us. Learn your place in the world and learn his!"

"...I'm groundin' you 'til you get this idea out of your head, boy. Pokemon Training is sick and wrong. How dare you even think of pitting these poor creatures up against each other in sport? They could get seriously injured!"

"Like it really matters?" Volkner spat.

He could see his mother's face turn red, and he could not help but smile.

"You can't blame an entire race for one's stupidity, Volkner," she said. "That's like blaming the entire human race for a bank robbery."

"Watch me," Volkner whispered, then shook his entire body: he felt the light grip that the tiny mouse Pokemon had on his shoulder falter, and with another shake, the mouse was sent sprawling toward the big bad wooden floor.

One chink in his plan, though. He hadn't thought everything through entirely: he had forgotten about the small yellow and brown creature by his mother's side, the tips of its beast-like fingers curling out and glowing red, sending a similar aura to Chuseph's body. It enveloped the mouse, and brought him down safely onto the floor next to the Abra.

"...Your sentence has been extended," his mother said after a few moments of awestruck silence. "You're not to leave your room unless you are coming down for one of the scheduled three meals, using the restroom, or going to school. No friends-"

Volkner stopped listening for a moment to think, "_What friends?_"

"...and no video games. If you apologize to Chuseph, I'll give you a regular sentence. Otherwise, this is 'til you leave my house for a place of your own."

"...M-mom, that's-"

"Your sentence. Up to your room. Now."

Volkner glared at her spitefully, and only because he knew he had been beaten. He had no counter argument. He only knew he could show his ass a little more and hopefully upset his mother some. Served her right. As he ran past her, he said the words he knew any mother dreaded to hear: a combination of three words reserved only for inflicting maximum emotional pain.

"I hate you."

Up the stairs he went, curving around the hallway and flying into his room, the door slamming shut behind him. He flung himself onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow, letting out a choked cry. He had just had his one chance to get out of here destroyed: he was too smart to try and sneak off. He knew that f he did, h would be reported as a missing child, and everyone in

Johto would be looking for him. And that put him right back at square one.. He hated this place. He hated his mother. He hated the world.

"What's wrong, Volkner?"

Volkner inhaled sharply, forcing himself to sit up and identify the source of this voice – it sounded sweet, almost melodic to his ears. He looked around for a moment or two through blurry eyes, before catching the source.

She sat on his windowsill, wearing a long white dress that covered even down to her feet. It was sleeveless, revealing pale, thin arms. Her face was gorgeous: the very sight of her seemed to make his worries go away for just a moment, before woefully returning. Her black hair went down to her shoulders.

"Who are you?..." Volkner whispered.

"A friend," the girl said simply.

"But I've never seen you before in my life," Volkner responded after a few moments.

"So? I'm still your friend, Volk."

His heart skipped a beat. Not a soul had called him that- not since-

"So, once again – something wrong, Volk? You seem pretty upset."

"Tell me who you are."

"I told you – a friend. If you really want a specific name... well, you can call me Mana." A smile crossed her lips. "It really is nice to see you, Volk."

"How do you know my name? How did you get in here?" Volkner demanded, his hands clenching into fists. He was about to punch this girl: her cryptic, dodgy answers were getting on his last nerve.

"I know your name because I know it. I got in here through the window. Should really get locks for these sorts of things."

"Sarcastic little..."

She giggled, making Volkner flinch.

"Shhh, Volk. Listen up, now. I've got a favor to ask of you."

"I'm not doin' any-"

She leaped off the windowsill, walking slowly in his direction. He pulled backward, going up against the headboard of the bed, pressing himself flat until she sat down almost next to him, leaning in and giving him a simple kiss on the cheek.

"...I've missed you, Volk. Thank God for this opportunity. But I've got to... I've got to send you away for a little while. See ya later, 'gator."

And with that, Volkner looked up and saw a flash of green and pink light, swirled together: then it disappeared, replaced only with darkness, the sweet darkness of unconsciousness.

Volkner Sune heard one last thing.

_We will do you a great favor, child..._

_...Just as long as you do us one first._


	2. Chapter 2

**Rebirth of Sinnoh**

**Volkner's Tale**

**Chapter One: **Stranger in a Strange Land

"Just so you know, it's kinda annoyin' when ya try'n push me like this," the girl said, running her hand over her forehead to push strands of caramel brown hair away from her face.

"Oh, is that so? Well, then, remind me to try harder. 'Kinda annoyin'' is far from what I'm going for." A smile crossed the older woman's lips: the younger one couldn't help but smile as well.

"Lily, I'm not goin' in that place," the younger one said.

"Gardenia, you're never going to get over your fears if you don't," Lily Florence said.

Gardenia Florence shook her head. "Sucks fer me then."

Lily Florence sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "You're a stubborn arse, Gardenia."

Gardenia offered a sly grin, different from the shy smile she wore seconds before. "Where'd'ya think I get it from?"

"...Touche, little girl. Touche. Anyways, I want you in that place by sometime tonight. Don't matter to me when. Bring back an Old Gateau – one I placed inside, lil' Missy, so don't get any funny ideas. I know what it looks like – as proof that you were there."

"Lily-"

"Don't Lily me, Gardenia. This is an order from Gym Leader Lily, not mom Lily or friendly Lily," Lily said.

"...Yes ma'am. But if they find my body there..."

"I'll take full blame," Lily said with a smirk.

"You 'd better!"

Gardenia Florence was, quite frankly, scared shitless. Her one totally debilitating phobia, and of course her dear, sweet mother was going to mak her face it right in the eye. The Old Chateau was a building just less than a mile west of Eterna City, well within walking distance, that had a legend to it.

Long ago, it was said that the rich folks who lived there invited some other rich folks over for dinner. Of course, some variations of the legend said that was a literal interpretation. As in, they ate them. But the interpretation Gardenia believed was that the jealous butler, jealous of their riches and his forced servitude toward them, poisoned them: all of them, and then killed himself out of guilt. The spirits of the two families were supposed to be haunting the place to this day.

That was her fear. Her one and only phobia in which she truly could not face: _ghosts_.

"A beautiful young lady such as yourself traversing the roads alone? O, the humanity of it all!"

She recognized the voice, and turned on her feet to face its source. A young man with brown hair coming down to his ears, a relatively nicely built body, and piercing green eyes: her lovely companion and fellow gym-trainer, Willow Bryant.

"Will, I suggest ya be quiet," she said.

"I will be as loud as I wish, m'lady. Just as long as you fight me about it." A grin crossed the young man's lips.

"What're ya botherin' me for?" Gardenia asked.

"Lily asked me to join you for your ghost huntin' exploration," he responded.

"...Don't put it that way," Gardenia deadpanned.

Will locked his hands behind his head, beginning to walk forward, and Gardenia continued on her way as to keep the lead. "Well, then, m'lady. Shall we go?"

"...Well, there're these big bushes in our way. And the fence is too tall... L-looks like we ain't gonna be able to m-muh-make it," Gardenia said nervously, turning and beginning to walk the opposite direction.

"Hey, hey! I've seen you do more strenuous things than climb over a fence, Gardenia! Get'cher pretty behind back here."

Willow Bryant grinned from ear to ear, trying to make it as clear as possible that he was loving this chance to torture his childhood friend.

"...Damn it, Willow, I'm-"

"Scared?" His expression went from goofy to serious with the blink of an eye. If all-about-appearances Gardenia was willing to admit that...

"...Yes," Gardenia whispered.

Willow smiled softly, extending a hand. "Ghosts ain't gonna harm you, Gardenia. Especially with me around. Now c'mon. Let's go get rid of this fear."

Gardenia stood silently for a few moments, a look in her eyes as if pondering whether or not to accept. Willow was patient, and after a while, she took his hand and nodded once, weakly.

"Let's go."

The two of them made a quick hop over the short fence that surrounded the building, and began to walk forth.

The Old Chateau could only be called small by a blind man. It stood looming above the trees of the forest, in turn leaving humans as little more than dwarves. It was painted a dark black on the actual home, while the roof was instead opted to be unpainted, leaving it a bright shade of brown. In the black paint, sections of it had started to chip off, giving the walls a sort of polka dotted brown-black scheme.

Inside, things were different, Gardenia mused. From what she could see, everything inside was more of a dark brown color, even the floor tiling. Key phrase being, "from what she could see". Since the home was pretty old, it held no working electricity. Willow's eyes were more efficient in darkness, she realized suddenly – that was why Lily had sent him.

"...Will-"

"Let's get some explorin' done, eh, Gardie? It's got to be interesting, this old place."

"...Y-yep," she murmured.

He winked in her direction, and the two continued forth. The design so far was pretty simple: two staircases, one leading left and the other leading right, a door right in front of them and a statue on the left of the door. As they passed, Gardenia got a sudden chill down her spine, her muscles locking up.

"...Will, I can't shake the f-feelin' somethin' is watchin' us," she whispered.

"Probably is," he said. Gardenia felt her heart rise into her throat. "An old place like this is bound to attract Pokemon. It's 'prolly a Bidoof."

"You scared me!"

"Didn't mean 'ta, believe it or not, m'lady," Will said, a comforting smile still on his face.

"...I don't believe ya. But I'll kill ya later. Let's get this done and over with."

"Righty'o, Gardie."

The two continued to walk through, finding themselves in a kitchen – a big one. But something seemed off here as well, something Gardenia could not quite manage to put her finger on. In the center of the room was a long, but narrow table still dressed in a table cloth, an assortment of rusted silver dishes placed on top.

"Wow... think these things would be worth anything?" Will mused.

Gardenia slowly shook her head. "With all that rust? They're pretty much t-trash.."

"Touche. How about under the tables, though? Why don'tcha check?"

Gardenia lifted up the drooping table cloth, fell flat onto her backside and shrieked in terror. Looking at her were a pair of human eyes.

"Shit! Gardie, you scared me for a second. You okay?"

"...There's...I...you...look..."

Will knelt in front of the table, lifting up the cloth. She saw him visibly shudder, reach down beneath, moments later looking at her, his eyes wide, his face pale.

"...G-...Gardie. Listen up. W-..we... we need to be calm. This guy... he's- he's still alive. Here's the p-puh-puh-...plan... you have your phone with you?"

Gardenia reached into her pockets with shaky hands, pulling out her phone.

"Call a medical u-unit... tell 'em to meet us outside of Eterna Forest. Let's get movin'," Willow whispered.

Gardenia did so, and the two mobilized. But before they left, Gardenia noticed a small object on the floor that rolled out when Willow pulled this yellow-haired guy out. A Pokeball, she realized: quickly, she grabbed it and stuffed it in her pocket, before going after Will.

Volkner Sune felt little more than the steady thumping of his heart, and heard nothing other than a rythmic beeping sound. A heart monitor, he realized after a few moments of silent contemplation. His own? Possibly.

Eyes peeled open to a steady stream of filtered light, various images and shapes forming before him, but none of them were comprehensible. Sounds entered his ears, new ones, fresher ones, but he could not identify them.

"...Nurse, he's awake!"

A thick, country accent. Where was he? No one at home had this kind of accent. And... nurse?

"...Where am I?" he managed to choke out.

An unfamiliar face looked down to him: a woman's. Thin nose, green eyes and caramel brown hair, blocked from inconvenient eye-contact by a black headband. "Yo. Welcome back to Sinnoh, bud."

"...Sinnoh?" The name sounded unfamiliar.

"Right. Eterna City, if ya wanna be specific. But that don't matter. How're ya feelin'?" she asked.

"Confused."

"That so? You ain't got amnesia or whatever, do ya?"

"...I don't think I do," Volkner said. In all honesty, he wasn't too sure.

"You don't think? What's yer name?" the girl asked.

"Volkner Sune."

"Well, at least there's that. Where ya from?"

"Oliv-" He stopped for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea to tell her this. None of this world sounded familiar. The places, the sounds, the people, none of it. After a moment, he simply thought: _what the hell? _"Olivine City..."

"Here on vacation, then?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "Johto's pretty far away..." Volkner did not respond. He did not need to: after a few moments of silence, she continued. "Anyways, nice to meet'cha, Volkner Sune. Name's Gardenia Florence."

Volkner nodded slowly. "Sure."

Suddenly, she drew in a sharp breath, as if just remembering something. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small red sphere: no, red on the top, white on the bottom. He stared at it for a few moments.

"This thing yours? Found it near ya. Sorry if it's bein' nosy, but your Pichu is absolutely adorable."

"My...Pichu...?"

_Chuseph, you moron!_

"Yep. He's lookin' lively."

"...Right...thanks... can you leave him on the desk? Then leave? I just... I just wanna sleep..."

"Sure. I'll be back to check up on ya later- or I might send my friend Will. Either way..."

"...Whatever. Just go," Volkner deadpanned.

"...Okey doke then," Gardenia murmured, setting the Pokeball on the desk next to his bed, then heading for the door. Volkner shut his eyes and thought simply: _what the hell is going on here!_


End file.
